Demons

It was 6am and the sky was crying again. As the tears pelted down and hit my skin like needles, which left me shivering and raw, I stumbled to my feet, dazed and confused, with no idea of where I was. The skeletal trees were grasping at the pallid sky and as I stood in the midst of this empty hell-hole a sudden burst of realisation hit me that I was on the run. Running from the demons who took my innocence, but deep down, I knew they would find me. I shook of the pessimistic thoughts and pulled myself together the best I could.

The barbed wire attached itself onto my clothes as if decorating it. ‘Where on earth was this Dog taking me?’ Before I finished thinking that, the dog disappeared, stealing the last words away from me. I ran as if to keep up with the nothingness that surrounded me, and an empty vacuum pulled me beneath the surface. A bloody hole, when on earth did someone put a hole here? The annoying fact that a hole without my consent, had just been dug up, distracted me from the reality that I kept falling, a really long fall.

I finally kicked him in his nuts as hard as I could. He finally let go of my neck and he dropped to the ground writhing in pain. As he let me go, I fell to the ground. I was coughing as I was trying to get my breath back. I grabbed my purse and I stood up over him.

Stumbling in her flat, Riley's head pulsated from the constant complaints, bratty kids, and outrageous hours. She shuffled to the loo only to discover she was out of Advil, slamming the cabinet door shut she checked the time on her wristwatch. “Great, looks like I'm getting takeout again,” she sighed. “Because I need to meditate.” Walking to her bedroom she kicked off her shoes and felt her toes sink into the shaggy carpet. Riley made a direct path to her closet to change into more leisurely clothes; remembering the reports of a peeping Tom in the area.

I continued to battle against the current and at long last managed to grasp a clump of mud from the bank with my fingernails. I drew myself inward however I couldn’t gather the strength to climb. The combined resonating noise of several semi-automatic weapons blasted from nearby, my saving grace had arrived. I yelped like a lost puppy out to them, but the roaring gunfire was too thunderous. I mustered up all my residual energy for one last call.

As she marched down the familiar hallways, she found whom she was looking for. “Hey, Mrs. Evered,” she called. The teacher turned her burgundy hair to reveal a taught face on a uniform dress whose only issue was a wrinkle on the bottom left. “Hey…” Mrs. Evered tried to echo, being cut off by the rumbling shifts of the school’s heating system. “Did you finish your history project?” She nagged her as she tried to jam the key into the door of her classroom on the first try.

He slapped her face, which was covered in blood from her nose, but she continued struggling. She dug her finger nails into his back as he was on top of her and the man flung his elbow as hard as he could onto her face. Hanna's head twisted to the side and a sharp cracking sound echoed throughout the entire house. Hanna's neck was deformed and contorted out of place. The man realized what he had done, his mood changed.

I panicked, I started to run back to the hotel as fast as I could. "KEY GET HER!" One of the men yelled behind me. I sprinted faster as he pulled my arm back almost pulling it out of the socket. I fell back head hitting concrete first.

A thin sheen of sweat coats my body as the aftermath of the dream still lingers and the golden California sunlight pours through my window. I glance at the clock on my bedside table, I was late. Again. Groaning, I flipped off the covers and stumbled into my bathroom. No time to shower, I quickly ran my fingers through my thick, brown hair in a valiant attempt to tame the beast.

On instinct I started sprinting too, to catch up with Ralof, but he just kept getting further and further away from me. With the town in my sights, I work up as much energy as I can to reach the gates, but then the ground shakes aggressively under my feet, tripping me up. “Osh-“ I say, tumbling to the ground, dreading what could be happening next. The ground rumbles more, and I feel a presence behind me. A huge gust of smelly air blows over me.